In this episode, Kate Ebner interviews medical expert and author Dr. Leana Wen. Their conversation touches on the fundamental importance of good public health, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the disparities in public health that have been laid bare by the virus. Dr. Wen offers wisdom about what we can do to help shape the future of public health.
Dr. Leana Wen is an emergency physician, visiting professor of health policy and management at George Washington University, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is also a contributing columnist for The Washington Post and CNN medical analyst. Previously, she served as Baltimore's Health Commissioner, where she led the nation’s oldest continuously operating health department in the U.S. to fight the opioid epidemic, treat violence and racism as public health issues, and improve maternal and child health. Dr. Wen is the author of the recently released, Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health.